rights. >> barbara starr is joining us right now. on that last point that you just made, i assume he is totally committed to making sure equal rights for gays and lesbians serving in the united states military will be fully honored, no going back to don't ask, don't tell or anything along those lines? >> well, that's absolutely right, wolf. when you are the secretary of defense in this country, you carry out the president's policies. this is mandatory. there's no choice on these matters. so by accepting the nomination and being willing to serve as secretary of defense, he will have to do this. in fact, many members of the gay and lesbian community are looking for additional rights to be granted to them when they are partners of either those serving in the military or in the military themselves. i think for most americans one of the -- besides all of the questions we've discussed here, what would lead to troops being taken into another conflict, into another war after so many years in iraq and afghanistan? that may be the real bottom